Gem State Wire

There were 15 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending July 24, a 50 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 24, there were 319 deaths in the state. 15 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4 percent were from cancer and 9.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	62	49
Heart disease	48	62
Alzheimer's disease	18	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	18	16
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	16	16
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	16	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	15	10
Diabetes mellitus	12	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	0
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	30	32